Feds approve PennEast pipeline

Kyle Bagenstose @KyleBagenstose

Monday

Jan 22, 2018 at 5:06 PMJan 22, 2018 at 6:59 PM

Attention now switches to state and regional regulators.

Federal regulators issued approval for construction of the PennEast natural gas pipeline late Friday evening, clearing one of the largest hurdles remaining for the controversial project. However, the project still must obtain permits from other state and regional agencies before construction can begin.

By a vote of 4-1, a majority of the members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, found the proposed 116-mile pipeline met the agency’s standards. The $1 billion pipeline would carry natural gas from northeast Pennsylvania to Mercer County, New Jersey, cutting through the far northern corner of Bucks County before crossing the Delaware River along the way.

“We find that the benefits that the PennEast Project will provide to the market outweigh any adverse effects on existing shippers, other pipelines… and on landowners and surrounding communities,” FERC wrote in its approving order.

In a news release, the PennEast Pipeline Co., a joint-enterprise of five energy companies, touted the decision.

“Approval of the PennEast Pipeline is a majority victory for New Jersey and Pennsylvania families and businesses,” Anthony Cox, chair of PennEast’s board of managers, stated in the release. “PennEast will lower gas and electricity costs, increase reliability, improve air quality, and make the region more competitive for jobs.”

But not all are in a celebratory mood. Since it originally was proposed in 2014, the pipeline has been met with vigorous opposition from environmental groups, local governments and citizens holding a range of concerns.

“From a lack of need to its devastating impacts on the environment, to the demonstrated false, misleading, and missing information provided by the PennEast companies to FERC, there is no way to support approval of this project,” Maya van Rossum, head of the Bristol Borough-based Delaware Riverkeeper Network, stated in a press release.

Van Rossum was joined in criticizing FERC’s decision by members of environmental nonprofits Sierra Club New Jersey, Environment New Jersey and Berks Gas Truth.

“This is an unnecessary pipeline, which will rip an ecological scar through the heart of the Delaware Valley,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey.

Richard Glick, the lone dissenting FERC commissioner, issued an opinion stating he “disagreed” with his colleagues that there was a definite need for the pipeline and that “on balance, the pipeline’s benefits outweigh its harms.”

“It is incumbent on the commission to engage in an especially searching review of the project’s potential harms to ensure that the project is in fact in the public interest,” Glick wrote. “In this case, PennEast’s certificate application lacks evidence that I believe is important to making the public interest determination.”

In its approval, FERC acknowledged the pipeline “will result in some adverse environmental impacts.” But the agency also put forth a list of conditions PennEast must follow, which the agency says will reduce impacts to “acceptable levels.”

Many of the 56 conditions put forth by FERC relate to PennEast still requiring approval from other regulators, including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Delaware River Basin Commission, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Because a significant portion of landowners along PennEast’s proposed route have denied the company access to survey their lands, the company has been unable to obtain the information needed to clear permitting processes with those agencies. That lack of data led to a rejection of PennEast’s application by the NJDEP last year, as well as letters of deficiency from the Army Corps of Engineers.

However, FERC’s approval grants the power of eminent domain to PennEast, allowing the company to gain the access needed to complete environmental surveys. According to FERC’s conditions, PennEast would then have to file numerous reports and plans prior to beginning construction, such as those analyzing effects to ecosystems, landslide potential, geological hazards, historical sites and other environmental concerns.

According to FERC, PennEast’s construction certificate also has a condition that the project be “constructed and made available for service within two years.”

Environmental groups vowed to continue opposing the proposal.

“Now the real fight begins,” Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, wrote in a release. “PennEast has a long way to go and many permits to get.”

Tittel is most focused on the recent inauguration of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who vocally opposed the pipeline while running for office. In a statement emailed Monday, Murphy's office wrote that the governor will be taking a "hard look at this project in connection with an updated Energy Master Plan, which will focus on renewable energy and shifting away from outdated energy resources."

"We are carefully reviewing the proposed PennEast pipeline project," the statement added. "To the extent that any state approvals remain outstanding, we will ensure that consumers and our environment are protected."

In an email, PennEast spokeswoman Pat Kornick wrote that the company will be reapplying to the NJDEP for required permits. An application already has been submitted to the Delaware River Basin Commission, but no hearing dates have yet been set. Kornick said PennEast has an application before the Army Corps of Engineers and is “continuing to work with the agency on final consultations.”

Whether or not New Jersey’s permits are needed appears to be the subject of debate. In its order, FERC wrote that it “encourages cooperation between interstate pipelines and local authorities."

“However, this does not mean that state and local agencies, through application of state or local laws, may prohibit or unreasonably delay the construction or operations of facilities approved by this commission,” its order continued.

Environmental groups believe state water quality permits are a delegated federal authority, and thus must be obtained prior to construction. Asked for comment via email, NJDEP spokesperson Lawrence Hajna wrote that PennEast “will need DEP permits” pertaining to wetlands and waterway crossings.

In 2016, New York state denied a similar “Constitution” pipeline application after a nearly three-year review. The pipeline’s sponsoring company sued, arguing New York was violating federal law. The company has lost its court battles to date, but petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review its case last week.

For its part, PennEast says it has pushed back its estimated “in service” date for the pipeline into 2019, although it expects to begin construction this year.

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